The top seeds won both singles and doubles at the 2023 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Williams Accounting & Consulting Open in Lilburn, Georgia on Sunday. In singles, top seed Daniel De La Rosa beat 3rd seed Jake Bredenbeck, 15-10, 15-12, while in doubles top seeds Rodrigo Montoya and Andree Parrilla defeated 2nd seeds De La Rosa and Alejandro Landa, 15-12, 13-15, 11-5. De La Rosa has been in all three singles finals this year, winning two of them. Also, Montoya’s been in two doubles finals in 2023, winning both times, while Landa has been in all three doubles finals this year, but has yet to win one.
In three IRT events this year, no one has won both singles and doubles at the same event.
De La Rosa led for most of game one versus Bredenbeck, and he got to game point at 14-7. But Bredenbeck fought off four game points, and got a few points of his own before De La Rosa ended it by forcing Bredenbeck into skipping a forehand return off a drive jam serve to the left side.
Bredenbeck carried that late game momentum over into game two, taking a 5-0 lead. He maintained the lead up to 9-9, and when De La Rosa won the next point to lead 10-9, Bredenbeck called a timeout.
The timeout didn’t turn the tide, as De La Rosa lengthened his lead to 13-9, but Bredenebck did come back to within one at 13-12. Bredenbeck gave De La Rosa his 14th point when he skipped a backhand shot that he tried to kill from waist high.
De La Rosa got the win on the next rally, although there was a bit a controversy to the end. De La Rosa hit a forehand shot down the right side that went off the side wall to the front wall, and rolled. But it hit the side wall at around floor level a couple feet from the front, so it seemed like it was a skip. That is, it seemed it rolled in, as well as out, and the referee called it a skip. But De La Rosa, who had fist pumped after making the shot, appealed the call, and the line judges both disagreed with the referee’s call, so it was overturned; the shot was judged to be good. Match over.
Bredenbeck looked stunned at the call being overturned.
Afterwards, De La Rosa congratulated Bredenbeck, saying “he played amazing. He gives everything on the court.”
For his part, Bredenbeck said “Daniel’s a hell of a player. Obviously one of the best in the world [and he] continues to prove that.” Bredenbeck said he was “just a little bit off and at this level that doesn’t work,” and “I didn’t feel like I was hitting the ball clean, like I was yesterday.” He was a little frustrated to not perform how he wanted.
But overall Bredenbeck feels he’s “starting to put the pieces together,” and still feels “like I’m learning and growing and getting better. Hopefully, I can continue to improve and start getting wins instead of 2nd places.”
In the doubles final, Montoya and Parrilla jumped out to a 11-0 lead in game one, and got to game point at 14-7. De La Rosa and Landa did fight back and get within two at 14-12, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
In game two, De La Rosa and Landa led early, 5-1 and 8-2, but Montoya and Parrilla led late, 12-9 and 13-11. Yet they couldn’t finish it out, as De La Rosa and Landa came back to win 15-13, as Landa hit a winning forehand cross court shot, and hobbled off the court.
Credit to Landa for gutting it out through the match, as he was clearly showing the effects of the ankle injury he suffered in the quarterfinals against Samuel Murray.
Early in the tie-breaker, it seemed that Landa’s perseverance was going to be rewarded with a win, as he and De La Rosa took a 5-1 lead. But unfortunately for them, that’s all the points they got, as Montoya and Parrilla scored ten unanswered points to win the breaker 11-5, and take the title.
The match winner came as Landa pushed a shot down the line from the front court, and Parrilla was there in before Landa could get out of the way. Parrilla held up and an avoidable was called. De La Rosa and Landa appealed, but the line judges - this time - agreed with the referee’s call, ending the match. Unlike De La Rosa and Landa's semi-final, there was no protest at the outcome of that appeal.
The IRT will next play in Minneapolis for the Minnesota Hall of Fame event, March 2-5, 2023. If you missed any of the action from Georgia, check out IRT YouTube channel.
2023 IRT Williams Accounting & Consulting Open
February 16-19, 2023 - Lilburn, Georgia
Final - Sunday
1) Daniel De La Rosa d. 3) Jake Bredenbeck, 15-10, 15-12
IRT Doubles - Final - Sunday
1) Rodrigo Montoya & Andree Parrilla d. 2) Daniel De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa, 15-12, 13-15, 11-5
Follow the bouncing ball….
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